# Iran Buries Revolutionary Guards as US-Iran Strikes Persist Despite Reported Talks

Pakistan says negotiations are ongoing while Saudi Arabia forms a 14-nation alliance to protect shipping around the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

- Published: 2026-07-31T05:30:36.358Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-07-31/iran-buries-revolutionary-guards-as-us-iran-strikes-persist
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: geopolitics
- Sources: [The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/iran-israel-war-live-july-31-2026-updates-pakistan-us-donald-trump-west-asia/article71288966.ece), [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/7/31/iran-holds-funeral-for-revolutionary-guard-members-reportedly-killed-in-us), [South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3362460/chinese-data-challenges-us-iran-war-claims-bamboo-vs-desertification-scmps-7-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed)

The confrontation between the United States and Iran continued even as intermediaries reported movement toward talks. In northwestern Iran, residents [gathered for the funeral of Revolutionary Guard members](https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/7/31/iran-holds-funeral-for-revolutionary-guard-members-reportedly-killed-in-us) whom Tehran says were killed in a US strike, Al Jazeera reported. Iran has also claimed drone attacks on US bases in Kuwait.

Pakistan, acting as a channel between the sides, said [US-Iran talks were ongoing](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/iran-israel-war-live-july-31-2026-updates-pakistan-us-donald-trump-west-asia/article71288966.ece) even as the two continued to trade attacks, according to The Hindu's live coverage. The same report noted that Saudi Arabia had assembled a maritime defense alliance of 14 regional countries to secure navigation around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a sign that Gulf states are building their own security arrangements as the conflict continues.

The competing narratives extend to the facts of the war itself. The South China Morning Post reported that [Chinese satellite data has challenged some US claims](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3362460/chinese-data-challenges-us-iran-war-claims-bamboo-vs-desertification-scmps-7-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed) about the scale and success of its strikes, a reminder that battlefield damage assessments in this conflict come filtered through the interests of whoever releases them.

What emerges is a pattern of managed, reversible escalation. Talks proceed through intermediaries while strikes continue, and regional states protect themselves by arming their own shipping lanes rather than relying on either combatant.

## What this means

The channel is the energy risk premium and the cost of moving goods through the Gulf and the Red Sea. Each round of strikes and each new maritime alliance raises the insurance and rerouting costs embedded in regional trade, which redistributes income toward oil producers and away from importers. Exposed are crude and shipping markets, Gulf states forced to fund their own naval security, and Asian economies that depend on the Bab al-Mandab and Hormuz corridors. Because damage claims are contested, the market has to price a wide range of outcomes at once.

## What to watch

- Whether the Pakistan-mediated talks produce a formal pause, because a verified halt would ease the premium that keeps returning to oil prices.
- The operational reach of the Saudi-led maritime alliance, since a functioning multinational force around Bab al-Mandab would mark Gulf states building security outside the US framework.